Pity the blind

Filmed version of a popular vaudeville gag, as if from the audience of a variety theater. A boy, holding a sign under his arm, leads a man onto a stage with a painted backdrop of a city street corner. With his dark glasses and cane, the man is apparently blind. He kneels down slightly left of center stage and lays down his hat and cane, while the boy turns the placard around so that it reads "Pity the Blind," places it around the man's neck, and exits the stage. A gentleman with a cigar crosses the stage, pauses to read the sign, and drops some money in the blind man's hat. He is followed by two well-dressed women in furs and long coats, who also leave coins for the beggar after searching their purses. As they start to exit, however, one of the women stops and raises her skirt to adjust her tights. Behind her back, the supposed blind man slides his dark glasses down his nose and ogles the woman's exposed leg. With the leggings in place, the women exit the stage none the wiser, leaving behind a smiling "blind" man.